Rocket fired in Rawalpindi when Musharraf's plane was in air

ISLAMABAD: A rocket and anti-aircraft guns were fired from a Rawalpindi house close to the runaway of the military airbase used by President Pervez Musharraf while his plane was in air, in a possible retaliation by hardliners to the crackdown on the radical Lal Masjid.

Heavy contingents of police cordoned off the house at the Asghar Mall Road in Rawalpindi where two anti aircraft guns were found fitted on the roof, Dawn News TV said.

It is not clear whether the rocket or the aircraft guns were fired at Musharraf's plane.

The house was rented by a couple only on Thursday. It is located close to the runway of the military airbase at Chaklala near Rawalpindi used by Musharraf, the TV channel said.

The occupants of the house, owned by local resident Muhammad Asfar, reportedly escaped after firing the shots.

Musharraf was on his way to Turbat in Balochistan to oversee relief operations in rain-hit areas.

Besides firing from the anti-aircraft guns, there was also firing from Light Machine Guns around the same time, the channel said.

Twenty-five rounds of 14.5 mm bullets were fired. Police recovered 150 rounds more from the roof top of the house.

Security officials suspect that the incident was linked to the current crackdown against the Lal Masjid, which has seen a bloody stand-off over the last four days.